Your Budget 2017-18

Stronger growth

To create more and better paying jobs

Delivering on our plan for jobs and growth

This Budget builds on a significant record of achievement

Legislated tax cuts for small and medium Australian businesses with turnover less than $50 million per annum, as announced as part of the Ten Year Enterprise Tax Plan and promised for this term of Government in the last Budget.

Incorporated small businesses with turnover less than $10 million will have their tax rate cut to 27.5 per cent in 2016–17, the lowest level in 50 years. This lower corporate tax rate will extend to other companies with annual turnover less than $50 million by 2018–19.

These changes, together with related increases in the unincorporated tax discount rate and greater access to the small business tax concessions, will benefit around 3.2 million businesses employing 6.7 million workers.

The Government has some of the strongest multinational tax laws in the world. The Government is building on the success of the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law and the new Diverted Profits Tax, to prevent large multinationals
from artificially shifting profits overseas. We have also established a new Tax Avoidance Taskforce which will raise $3.7 billion in revenue from 2016–17 to 2019–20. This financial year, the ATO has already raised $2.9 billion in tax liabilities from several large multinational companies.

Having secured tax cuts for small and medium businesses, the Government is committed to extending the tax cuts to cover all companies in Australia. A more internationally competitive company tax rate will attract investment that creates higher paying jobs and grows the economy.

The Government’s defence industry plan and the continuous ship building program will create advanced manufacturing jobs for Australians for decades to come. The plan includes creating 5,200 direct jobs in naval ship building and thousands more across the supply chain. The establishment of the Maritime Technical College in Adelaide will support the significant workforce expansion and skilling needs for naval ship building. In addition, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program will support about 5,000 jobs.

The Government is delivering on its commitment to help up to 120,000 young Australians to get into
work. The Youth Jobs PaTH program assists young Australians to get a job by providing them with practical pre-employment training, and with real work experience through internships. Businesses are being encouraged to hire young job seekers through wage subsidies.

Our export trade deals with China, Japan and South Korea are bearing fruit, with increased access also secured in the past year with Singapore and Indonesia, particularly for the agricultural and services sectors.

The Government is delivering on its commitments to grow the economy

Delivering the $1.1 billion National Innovation and Science Agenda to position Australia as a world leader in innovation so Australians can take full advantage of new economic opportunities. The Government has implemented measures to encourage individuals and businesses to innovate through collaboration, building talent and skills, supporting entrepreneurship and access to capital.

To encourage innovation and grow our FinTech industry the Government has legislated to open up crowd-sourced equity funding for start-ups and innovative public companies, and has introduced a tax concession for start-ups and angel investors. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has introduced a regulatory sandbox
allowing eligible businesses to test new financial and credit services.

The Government’s Building Better Regions Fund is investing $298 million in infrastructure and community projects to back our communities’ plans to adapt and thrive in changing economic circumstances.

The Government has also invested $220 million in a Regional Jobs and Investment Package to support a resilient and productive regional workforce.

The Government has implemented superannuation tax reforms to make superannuation fairer and target concessions to support self sufficiency in retirement. These changes support our superannuation system becoming more sustainable and flexible, with greater integrity.